


Camp Silas

by lilucath



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/F, Multi, OT3, Other, Polyamory, Summer Camp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilucath/pseuds/lilucath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"All I wanted for my daughter is to have a nice time in summer-camp and then I get her back and she is in a polygamous relationship with a vampire and an amazon."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Departure

“Buuut daaad! Why do I have to go?” Laura whined as her dad put her bag in the trunk.

“Laura, we've talked about this. I am going to be in Europe for the next 2 months and I can't leave you here all by yourself.”

“I am turning 18 in a week. I am not a child anymore. And why can't you just take me with you?”

“Being 18 isn't the same as being an adult and 2 months on your own are just too much, my dear. And I can't take you with me because I will be in meetings all day. I wouldn't have any time to take care of you. And I can't let you wander around all alone in Vienna, it's just too dangerous for a young lady. And Summer camps are fun. If I were your age and my parents would send me to camp, I would be very excited. Please stop with that crunched-up face. It's a summer camp. Not summer school. Oh, and I put a few cans of bear spray in your bag, so you should be safe. You are gonna make plenty of new friends.”

“Dad, I am not ten anymore. I've got friends.”

“I know, I know. But maybe you'll meet a cute boy or girl. But be safe.”

“Dad!”

“Okay, I am kidding, no dating until your thirty.” Her dad kissed the top of her hair.

“Yes, of course.” Laura hugged him tightly.

“Now, lets go. Your favorite yellow pillow is already laying on your seat and I bought you a bunch of your favorite cookies.”

“But, but, but is there like a store nearby, because what if I am all out of cookies at one point. I will have to starve.” Lauras face dropped.

“You can survive without cookies, you know what right? No cookies would be good for your blood sugar.” Her dad grinned.

“But I don't wanna survive without my cookies.” Laura started pouting, hoping to change her father mind.

But he just laughed and closed the trunk. “I thought you weren't ten anymore. Now lets go. You have to catch your bus.”

Laura slowly walked towards the car door as her dad placed himself on the driver seat. The yellow pillow pressed to her face, she let out one last big sigh and slammed the door shut. As her dad drove down the drive way, Laura fastened her seat belt and grumbled: “So there is really no way out of this anymore. Well then tell me little bit about this camp.”

Her dad smiled at her and nodded.“So the website explains it as a summer camp for young adults. Their reputation is flawless, not a single accident has ever occurred there. It's in the woods next to a lake. They have cabins, which, on the pictures, looked very, how do you say, cute? They offer nice activities, like hiking, kayaking, all kinds of stuff young adults like. But please remember to be careful, honey.”

Laura rolled her eyes, but couldn't help a smile: “Yes dad, you know me. I promise to be safe. I'll keep bear spray on me every second.”

“Yes, I know you. That is the reason why I asked you to be safe. You've had way too many accidents for being this young. Way too many broken bones.”

Laura giggled: “It's not my fault everything is always in the way.”

 

20 minutes later her dad drove onto a big parking lot. A big yellow school bus was standing in the middle of it. Next to it stood a few parents and with their children who looked just as pleased as Laura when her dad told her that she was gonna spend her entire summer in camp. The big bus had a banner on its side reading “Camp Silas”.

A tall, very strict looking woman with a megaphone in her hands was walking around and yelled: “For registration please come to me. Departure in 10 minutes.”.

Laura got out of the car. Slowly one leg at once. Maybe, just maybe, if she is too slow she'll miss the bus and she won't have to go to camp, she thought. And her hopes died as her dad placed her bag in front of her.

“I am gonna go and tell that nice lady that you're here. You go and find some new friends. I'll be right back.”

Laura grabbed her bag and her pillow and scuffed towards the bus as somebody rammed into her and made her loose her pillow.

“Hey, watch where you walk.” Laura just saw a very angry dark haired girl out of the corner as she picked up her pillow.

She tried to counter but barely managed a quiet “You.. You watch where you walk.” as the girl was already out of earshot.

She was still picking a few pine needles of her pillow as her father reached her with a worried expression on his face. “Did that girl hurt you? Was she rude? Should I talk to her?”

“No dad.” Laura mumbled ”Its.. Its alright. I'm fine. I was just in the way as usual.” Lauras eyes seemed to be glued to the girl ever since she looked up from her pillow. For some reason she couldn't seem to be able to look away from her. As the girl disappeared in the bus, she looked at her dad who still had the worried look on his face. “Really. I am fine. How did the registration go?”

Her dad seemed to relax. “Very well. The woman with the megaphone, she introduced herself as the dean of this camp. She is the.. ”

Laura interrupted him “The dean? Are you sure it's not a school?”.

Her father nodded. “Yes, very sure. She told me that she is looking forward to meeting you and hopes that you'll have a good time. Oh, and departure is in five minutes. We should get you into that bus.”

Her dad picked up her bag and gave it to a boy about Lauras age wearing a Silas Camp shirt who was loading bags in the bus together with a tall redheaded girl.

“Thank you, young man.” Her father gave the him a big smile as he turned back to Laura. “You'll be safe okay? Give me a call when you've arrived in camp. And try to have fun, honey.” He pulled her into a tight hug.

“Yes. I promise to be careful and not get into any shenanigans.”

“Good girl. And now get into the bus, we can't have you miss it.” Her dad kissed her on top of her head.

“Bye dad.” Laura climbed up the stairs of the bus and started looking for a free seat. In the last row, she saw the darkhaired girl, who was wearing headphones now and looked out of the window with an expression on her face that Laura believe could kill people if they looked at her too long.

“Hey, come sit with us, shorty.” She heard a voice next to her. It belonged to a redheaded person with short hair who was sitting in a seat row that faced another seat row with a table between them. Next to the redhead was sitting a redheaded girl with long curled hair who pointed at the seat across from her.

“Yes, come sit with us.”

Laura smiled thankfully and places herself across from them, her pillow hugged tightly.

“We don't bite. Don't worry. No reason here to suffocate your poor pillow.” The short haired person laughed.

“Be nice.” The other girl looked at her strict. And as she turned back to Laura. “This is your first time in camp right? My name is Lola Perry, but everybody calls me Perry. And this is LaFontaine and we've been to camp twice already. It is a fun summer camp. Just a normal regular camp.”

“Per, you make it sound weird. It is actually a pretty cool camp.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Laura. Do you guys know how long the bus ride takes?”

“Just about two hours, if nothing goes wrong.” LaFontaines smile turned into a smirk.

“LaF, stop frightening Laura.”

Two boys fell onto the seats next to them. The shorter one with the Silas Camp shirt who had put Lauras bag into the bus looked at Laura and grinned: “Oh, fresh meat.”

“What is wrong with everybody today?” Perry asked furious. “Laura, this is Will.” She pointed to the other boy. “And this is Kirsch.”

“They are jerks. But sometimes they are okay-ish.” LaFontaine mocked. And Will threw something that looked like a used tissue against her head.

“We are no jerks.” Kirsch smiled. “We are very nice, sexy lady. Nice to meet you.” He offered Laura his hand, but before she could shake it, another redheaded girl sat down next to Will and slapped Kirschs hand away.

“Don't touch that. Who knows where that has been.” The very tall redheaded girl took Lauras hand carefully. “I am Danny, by the way. Laura is it?”

The redheaded girl gave Laura a smile that made her knees go weak even though she was sitting and her still holding Lauras hand didn't help either. The only two thoughts that went through her mind were how gorgeous this girl was and how many freckles a person could possibly have.

“Ye.. Yes..” Laura managed to bring out.

“Well then, nice to meet you, Laura.” Danny let go of Lauras hand, but was still looking at her.

“Okay, who wants to play a little game: Let-guess-the-illness?” LaFontaine asked from the other site of the table.

Laura watched Perry roll her eyes and shake her head. Next to them Kirsch and Danny were having an arm wrestling contest which Danny was clearly winning while Will was yelling at Kirsch to man up.

As Laura looked in between the seat rows, she caught the eyes of the dark haired girl from the parking lot. Her face wasn't as angry anymore and she studied Laura with an interested look on her face. As she noticed that Laura was looking at her, her eyes seemed to darken, but she didn't look away. Goosebumps ran down Lauras spine, her breathing started to go fast and she started shaking. She turned her head abrupt and starred out of the window.

This is gonna be an interesting summer, she thought and waved her dad as the bus started to drive out of the parking lot.


	2. Welcome to Camp Silas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The darkhaired girl stood in front of her and smirked.  
> “I'm Carmilla. I am your roommate, sweetheart.“

After one hour seeing nothing but highway and one hour driving through nothing but woods Laura started to worry that she had to cut herself short on a cookie per day so she would survive two months on the few packs of cookies she had with her.

The others had told her more about camp and as she studied their faces she felt as camp might not be the worst thing in the world. Especially looking at Danny gave her that feeling. Every time she caught the blue eyes of the redhead, Danny started to smile and Lauras stomach felt like it was not only filled with butterflies but with eagles chasing the butterflies.

 

As they've finally reached the camp ground, their bus stopped in front of a big cabin.

In the front of the bus the tall woman with the megaphone got up and told them to assemble in front of the bus as they all got up to stretch themselves and leave the bus.

 

“Welcome Campers. I am the dean. The chief of this wonderful summer-camp for young adults. Okay, let's start with giving you a few pieces of information you need to know. The cabin behind me is..”

 

As Laura started to look around the womans voice seemed to disappear. The camp was built on a big clearing in the middle of the woods. The cabin, they were standing in front of, seemed to be the main building and dining room. A few meters downhill Laura was able to see about 20 to 30 small cabins arranged in a circle around bright red cabin. Behind the small cabins Laura could see the glistening of a lake in the sun. She started scanning through the crowd and her eyes caught somebody standing in the shadow of the cabin, leaned against the wall picking her fingers. The darkhaired girl seemed to attract Lauras eyes and she wasn't able to look away. The girl was extraordinary beautiful. She had slightly curled black hair and had red lipstick on. She wore a black shirt and black leather pants which was probably the reason why she was standing in the shadow. Even Laura in her short dress was feeling extremely hot in the sun. And the longer she starred at the girl the hotter it seemed to get.

 

LaFontaine tapped on Lauras shoulder. “Shorty, you have to listen.”

 

“Don't ever forget to stay on the tracks. This is very important. Nobody gets lost this summer.” The womans voice brought Laura back into reality and she lifted her eyes from the girl. The woman pointed at the cabin door behind her. “This is the list with the cabin-arrangements. Now get your bags and settle in. We'll met here again in.. Let's say an hour, in front of the red cabin and I will show you around grounds. Alright? Anymore questions? No. Okay.”

The woman disappeared in the cabin followed by the darkhaired girl. Laura walked towards the list and scanned it for her name.

 

_Laura Hollis. Carmilla Karnstein. Cabin 13_

 

Karnstein. Didn't she know that name from somewhere? She couldn't remember. Laura had hoped that she got be in a cabin with Danny or LaFontaine or Perry.

 

Kirsch, Will and Danny already loaded the bags out of the bus and Laura started to search between the bags for her own.

 

Without looking up she made a few steps forwards and ran into somebody. She looked up and saw Danny turning around, her bag shouldered and Laura couldn't help but think that she looked like a goddess who just returned from a successful battle.

 

“I.. Uhm. I'm sorry. I.. I wasn't looking. I'm sorry.” She stuttered and felt herself blush.

 

“Hey, don't worry. I am not that easy to break. Looking for your bag?” Danny gave Laura that smile again that turned her knees into pudding.

 

“Ye.. Yes. “Laura nodded. “It's blue with white stripes.”

 

“Hm.” Danny looked around. “Maybe, it's the one behind you.”

 

Laura turned around and felt herself blush even more. If that was possible. She picked up her bag and didn't dare to look into Dannys eyes again.

 

“Yes. That is mine. Thank you.” Laura fled the scene, almost running downhill.

 

Maybe her mind played a trick on her, but behind her she thought she heard Danny saying: “Okay, she is just adorable.” And if Laura had looked back she had seen Danny smiling after her and LaFontaine laughing at Danny.

 

As Laura reached the cabin-circle, she scanned the cabin doors for the number 13 and when she finally found it, stumbled into the door. She let out a big sigh, threw herself onto one of the beds and buried her face in her pillow.

 

After a few minutes mentally yelling at herself about how she couldn't have made herself even more of a fool, she sat up and looked around. The cabin had two small beds on each site of the room and a cupboard behind each bed. Across from the door was big window which gave an amazing view across the lake.

Laura lifted her bag onto the bed and started to put her clothes into the cupboard. While doing that she pulled out her phone and called her dad. It took him a few rings to answer.

 

“Hey honey.” She heard his familiar voice at the end of the line.

 

“Hey dad. You wanted me to call, when we got here. Well, we got here. I am currently trying to get my clothes out of my bag.” Laura struggled to get a pair of pants out of the bag and let out a few murmured curses.

 

“That's good to hear. How was the bus drive? Did everything go well? Not too much traffic I hope?”

 

“Traffic? No, dad. We are in the middle of the woods. There is no traffic here. There is really nothing here. No stores to buy new cookies at. Dad, you've send me to hell.”

 

“You and your cookies. How are the other kids?”

 

Laura placed three boxes of cookies in her drawer. “They all them really nice. The people here don't seem to be a problem. But the cookie situation is worrying me.”

 

“Honey. Don't worry too much. I've gotta go. My plane leaves in a few minutes. But I love you. And be safe.”

 

“Love you too, dad. You too.” Laura heard the click and the followed beeping as she lowered her phone.

 

Behind her the cabin door opened and closed and out of the corner of her eye she saw a bag flying on the other bed. She turned around to greet her roommate and felt like lightning struck her. The darkhaired girl stood in front of her and smirked.

  
“I'm Carmilla. I am your roommate, sweetheart.“

 

Her mouth was dry and she barely managed a “Hi. I'm Laura.”. Why was talking so hard for her today?, she kept on thinking. Her stomach felt like she had been to a rollercoaster about 800 times.

 

Carmilla had started to grab a few clothes out of her bag and stuffed them into the cupboard on her site of the room.

 

“Are you just gonna stand there and keep staring at me? “ Carmillas voice tore Laura out of her train of thought.

 

“N.. No.” Her voice wanted to disappear again, but this time she cleared her throat and started over. “No. I don't. I am gonna do.. stuff.. now.”

Laura turned around, grabbed a few books out of her bag and put them next to her bed.

The bag itself, she shoved under the bed.

 

“Okay, cutie. I believe it is time that the dean wants to show you newbies around.” and with that Carmilla left the cabin again.

 

How she managed to empty her bag in just a few seconds was a mystery to Laura, but she forgot about it as she stepped outside and saw the glistening of the lake again. Something about a few cabins in the woods with a lake glimmering in the sun in the background had something romantic and Laura made the decision that she wanted to make the best out of this summer.

 

She walked through the crowd of people that had formed next to the red cabin. Her eyes found LaFontaine and Perry, and she headed towards them.

 

“Hey Laura.” Perry greeted her with a big smile.

 

“Sup.” LaFontaine gave her a nod.

 

“Really, LaFontaine? You don't have to pay for every word that you say.”

 

Laura grinned. These two were behaving like an old couple.

 

The dean stepped in the middle of the crowd. “Okay. I will wait a few more minutes for the last people to arrive.”

 

Lauras eyes wandered to two people, who were standing across from her. Carmilla and Danny.   
While Danny was gesturing wildly, Carmilla just stood next to her, nodded a few times and watched every move. Danny seemed to act out a wild fight because most of her movements looked like she was knocking an invisible opponent into the ground.

 

LaFontaine seemed to notice that Lauras was staring at the two girls.

 

“Danny and Carmilla, these two weirdos. Last summer there was an incident with a few humongous wasps. Nobody was hurt or anything, but ever since then they are almost inseparable. Before that they couldn't even look at each other without trying to kill the other. Nobody knows that really happened. “

 

Laura opened her mouth to ask about the humongous wasps, but was interrupted by the dean.

 

“I guess everybody is here now. So let's see. This big red cabin are the toilets and the showers. There are also a few washing machines and dryers inside. As mentioned before the cabin up the hill is the dining-cabin and as well as our offices. There is a snack vending machine inside for the small sugar and chocolate needs in between.”

 

Laura felt herself smile. At least a little bit of chocolate she was able to get here.

 

“Now let's go down to the lake.” The woman started to walk along a small path in between two cabins, followed by around 40 people.

 

“So, about those huge wasps.” Laura faced LaFontaine

 

“As I said, last summer, one evening, this swarm of huge wasps came out of nowhere. Every wasp had like the size of small child. The dean was yelling through her beloved megaphone that everybody was supposed to stay in their cabins. We were all in a cabin together. Danny, Carmilla, Per and I. The dean was outside yelling, the wasps were attacking the cabin up the hill and Danny and Carmilla just stared at each other for a while. I thought I had to get ready to get them of each others throat again. You know living with these two wasn't easy. Constantly fighting. And Perry was just sitting in the corner, mumbling: “There are no such things as huge wasps. Everything is normal.” Over and over again. And then Danny suddenly got up, looked at Carmilla and asked her if her mother had ever told her the story about Otrera. Carmilla looked like somebody had just hit her, she asked Danny if she had lost her mind and if she wanted to try it. Whatever “it” means. Danny nodded slowly and I swear I blinked and they were gone. I tried to calm Perry down and after a while the wasps stopped attacking the cabin, which was pretty damaged at this point. They rebuilt it pretty good. Anyway the wasps flew deeper into the woods. Long after midnight Danny and Carmilla showed up again. Looking like they just fell down a cliff but chatting like old friends. It was so weird. Ever since then they constantly whisper things that nobody is supposed to hear. Or both disappear in the middle of the night. Only to get back when the sun rises to look like they have been beaten with a stick. Crazy those two. Who knows what they do in the woods.”

 

Laura wasn't sure, if she should believe the story LaFontaine had just told her. But she had to stop thinking about it, because they had reached the shore of the lake.

 

“Listen up, Campers. If you follow the path on our right you will find a basketball court and a soccer or football field, whatever you like to call it. Behind the basketball court another trail leads around the lake, but please remember to stay on the tracks. These woods are deep. The path on our left leads to the fireplace. Tonight we will have the Welcome-to-Camp-Silas-Camp-Fire at 9. Behind me you can see the pier and the boat-house. Inside the boat-house there are boats, kayaks, water-volleyball-nets, all kinds of things and balls for every game that you can think of that involves balls. And no thank you William, we don't want to hear your comment on this sentence.”

 

Will had already opened his mouth, but closed it without saying anything.

 

“Where was I? Oh yes. If you take something from the boat-house please return it properly. Our staff doesn't like mess. In case something breaks, please report it to my assistant, who sits in front of my office most of the time. In the middle of the lake you can see a diving-platform. The bottom platform is about one meter above the surface and the upper platform about four meters. If you jump please be careful. To get to the next hospital it takes a while. For minor injuries my assistant has a first aid kit. Anything else? I don't think so. Okay, you are dismissed now until dinner.”

 

LaFontaine tapped on her shoulder. “Hey Laura. Wanna go swimming with us?” LaFontaine then turned to Danny and Carmilla who were still deep in a conversation that required Danny to stand on one leg. “Hey, weirdos. You two up for a swim?”

 

“Hell yes.” Dannys second foot found the ground again.

 

“Hm, whatever.” Carmilla shrugged and looked at Danny. Without another word the two of them started running up the hill with a speed that Laura couldn't believe anybody would survive in this heat.

 

Laura and the two redheads started walking up the hill and three words were wandering through Lauras mind. _Danny, Carmilla and Bikinis._


	3. “Hey, I said don't look down. “

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The water surface seemed hundreds of meters away. She felt her heart skip a beat. 
> 
> “Hey, I said don't look down. “

As Laura, Perry and LaFontaine finished changing and returned to the lake, Kirsch, Will and Danny were standing at the pier. Carmilla was nowhere to be seen.

Lauras mind traveled to not too healthy places as she studied Dannys half naked body.

She was wearing a green bikini, which matched perfectly to her red hair. But the thing that fascinated Laura the most was that Dannys upper body was ripped. She felt her eyes travel down the lines of the girls abs and wondered what it was like to feel them under her touch.

“Stop drooling and cool yourself off in the water.” LaFontaine whispered into Lauras ear and she had to admit that LaFontaine was gifted when it came to observing the actions of everybody around. LaF had caught Laura staring at somebody three times already and they had know each other for no more than four hours.

Out of nowhere Carmilla had appeared behind them and walked towards the edge of the pier. She was wearing a very short black bikini which underlined her muscular body. She wasn't quiet as ripped as Danny but still turned Lauras thoughts into something that wasn't suitable for children.

“Wow, you look smoking in that thing.” Now LaFontaine was the one who was dribbling.

Next to her, Perry made an disapproving sound.

LaFontaine kissed Perrys cheek. “Sorry, Per. But look at her.“

Two loud splashes made the two redheads and Laura turn their heads. They saw Carmilla highfiving Danny, while Kirsch and Will came up the the surface again.

“Hey, not fair, Danny. We were distracted by Carmilla in that smoking hot bikini.” Kirsch shook his head.

Dannys smile ran away from her face as she took a perfect header in between the two boys. A second later both boys got sucked under the surface.

“Wow, how did you do that?” coughed Will as he, Kirsch and Danny came up again.

Danny ignored his question. “Don't reduce females to their bodies.”

Meanwhile Carmilla had climbed down the ladder into the water. “Come on, Red. Race you three meat-heads to the platform.”

That she didn't need to say twice. Danny and Carmilla started to swim towards the platform as if the water had no resistance. Will and Kirsch followed a few feet behind them.

“How are they so fast?” Laura was fascinated by their speed.

“They must have been giving their best at bootcamp.” Perry smiled a little too enthusiastic.

All three climbed down the ladder and started to swim towards the platform where Will and Kirsch were already standing on the upper platform shoving each over who got to jump first. Carmilla had lied down against a pole in the sun and was stretching herself. Danny stood next to her, trying to force her wet hair into a ponytail. Water ran down her body and her wet bikini clung to her body. Laura had trouble keeping herself above surface.  
Perry and LaFontaine said they wanted to swim a few rounds across the lake and Laura climbed up the ladder onto the lowest platform. Somebody offered her a hand as she climbed the last few rungs. She looked up and saw into Dannys blue eyes. Thankfully she took her hand and Danny pulled her onto the platform with a little too much force with the result that Laura fell into her arms.

Danny tilted her head. ”Oh, I'm sorry.” Her face showed amusement, but definitely not 'I'm sorry'. Laura felt herself blush as she looked at Carmilla who had made amused sound. One eyebrow risen and a big smirk on her face.

“Do you wanna try and jump from up there?” Danny pointed over their heads.

Laura who was still holding on to Dannys arms let go of the redhead and nodded. Her throat was too dry to reply.

Danny climbed the ladder to the next platform first and Laura had great struggle not to stare at Dannys butt as she climbed up behind her.

As she finally stood on the platform she had no choice but to admire the view. She could see all around the lake. Mountains surrounded the lake and no matter in which direction Laura was looking all she could see where trees. Not even the cabins of their camp were visible through the thickness of the woods.

“This view takes my breath away every time too.” Next to her Danny smiled. “But don't look down. It looks way higher than it actually is.”

Of course Laura made the mistake of looking down. The water surface seemed hundreds of meters away. She felt her heart skip a beat.

“Hey, I said don'i look down. “ Danny shook her head and took Lauras hand. “Come. We're gonna jump together.”

With Dannys hand in her own the water didn't seem as far away anymore and she wasn't worrying about the jump as much as before. Her heart was now pounding for different reasons.

“You ready?” Danny led her towards the edge.

Laura had to swallow. “Yes. I guess so.”

“Okay on three. One.. Two.. Three.”

Laura pushed her body over the edge, clinging to Dannys hand. Her stomach started to tingle and then there was just cold water. Everything around her was spinning and Dannys hand was gone. She opened her eyes to try to find the surface but every direction looked the same. Then suddenly Carmilla was next to her. She took her hand and pulled Laura with her to the surface. They came up in the same moment as Danny.

“You okay?” Carmilla looked worried.

“Yes. That was fun.” Laura smiled as she noticed Carmilla hadn't yet let go of her hands.

“Are you sure?” Danny had swum next to them and put her hand on Lauras upper arm.

Laura felt the touches of both girls on her wet skin which made it very hard for her to keep swimming and even harder to put on an assuring expression. “Yes totally.”

With a last long look into Lauras eyes Carmilla let go of her hand. “Good.”

She turned to Danny and a grin appeared on her face. Carmillas hands shot forward and pressed Danny under water.

The redhead resurfaced with a mischievous smirk. “Revenge will be mine.”

“Show us your famous back-flip first.” Carmilla made a gesture for Danny to climb up the platform again.

“As you wish, milady.” Danny reached the ladder with a few strong strokes.

“Watch this.” Carmilla smirked at Laura. “If there is one thing she can do, it's jumping from that platform thing doing some kind of athletic crap.”

Both girls eyes wandered up to the platform where Danny was stretching herself. She turned them her back and walked towards the edge, only the front part of her feet still touching the platform. With a bending of her knees she pushed herself off and managed to do two back-flips before she dove into the water with a perfect header. During the fall Laura had felt her mouth drop open.

“You can close your mouth now, cupcake.” Carmilla murmured as Dannys head came back to the surface.

“Danny, that was so awesome.” LaFontaine and Perry had returned from their rounds across the lake and joined Carmilla and Laura as Danny caught up to them.

“Hey sexy ladies, watch this.” Where Danny had stood just a few moments ago, Kirsch had appeared and loosened his body. He ran over the edge and fell onto the surface like a cannon ball which resulted in a huge wave that rolled over the others.

“So immature.” Perry wiped the water of her face while shaking her head.

“Hey Laura, I found a spot near the shore where the water is just black and it kinda swirls. Wanna see?” LaFontaines voice was cracking with excitement.  
“Yes, definitely.” Laura followed LaFontaine who had started to swim back to the pier without waiting for Lauras answer. With a few strong strokes she caught up to the redhead.

 

After a while they stopped at an entrance of a small bay which was towered over by a big cliff. The water in the entire cove had a dark black color that Laura had ever seen. The blackness seemed to absorb the surrounding colors of the cliff. Every color around had faded to a dirty gray. LaFontaine handed Laura goggles. “That wasn't here last year. I just dove down. The water comes out of a big shell. Kinda like a maelstrom. Take a look for yourself. But don't touch the water. My right hand was without feeling for like 10 minutes. Perry was already freaking out so please don't tell her.”

Laura pulled the goggles over her head, inhaled and dove under. What had looked like a black oil layer from above the surface turned into a black spinning vortex which was streaked with colorful threads. The surrounding water was gray but clear, making it able for Laura to recognize the source of the vortex as a huge opened seashell. The oxygen level in her lungs were getting lower forcing her to return to the surface.

“Okay, wow.”

“Please tell me you like shenanigans as much as I do. Perry is awesome and stuff, and Danny and Carmilla are up for adventures, but I really need someone for this summer to get into shenanigans with.” LaFontaines eyes looked desperate.

“Yes, I am a shenanigans kind of girl. Always up for it. But that down there.. That looks so creepy.. But also awesome.” She was ringing for air as LaFontaine gave her a huge smile.

“I know right? I have never seen something like this. Okay, here is my plan. I am thinking about taking a few samples to send them to a friend of mine. This is really something we should keep our eyes on.”

“What kind of friends do you have that could possibly know what this is?”

“Well a friend of mine works in a high-tech-lab. They have the best electron-microscope in the country. And they are developing a way to improve and speed up PCR and capillary electrophoresis and..” LaFontaine noticed the confused look on Lauras face. “I am bio-major. And I think she should be able to tell us the components. Even on an atomic level if that is necessary. I always have a few test tubes in my bag. I am gonna get them real quick.”

“Is it okay if I tag along? Because I think that the water is getting closer.” Laura asked.

“Sure.”

The two of them swam back to the pier and wrapped themselves in their towels.

 

After taking a few samples of the water, which resulted once again in a numbness in LaFontaines hand, the two returned to their cabins to change into normal clothes again. LaFontaine wanted to send the samples away as quick as possible which resulted in them paying a visit to the assistant of the dean.

As the entered the office part of the main cabin, a woman looked up from her desk. She had long blond hair and gave them a smile that caused a warm feeling in Lauras stomach area.

“Laura, this is Isabelle. She is the deans assistant. If you have problem go to her first. She is real lifesaver.”

“Hello LaFontaine, good to know you found your way back to us. First day and already something to examine?” She pointed to the three test tubes in LaFontaines hand. “Looks like you found someone to get into trouble with. I guess I have to keep an eye out for you two. Isabelle, nice to meet you.” The blond woman stood up from her chair and reached Laura her hand which she gladly accepted.

“Laura, nice to meet you too.”

As Isabelle sat back into her chair her hair fell of her shoulder and revealed a dark spot on the side of her neck.

“Isa, what happened to your neck?” LaFontaines voice cracked with worry.

Quickly Isabelle covered up the dark spot “Oh that, I just burned myself with a curling iron.“.

LaFontaine didn't look convinced but dropped the topic. “I need an envelope to send some samples to a friend of mine. We took it from a black spot in the lake. The water there is just pitch black and seems to absord every color surrounding it.”

“Black water in the lake? Really?” Isabelles fingers ran through her hair as her smile dropped. “You didn't touch it, did you?”

“I did. Not on purpose though. But my hand is starting to feel things again.” LaFontaine gave Isabelle little wave.

“Good, good. You said you needed an envelope?” With shaking fingers Isabelle reached in one of the drawers of her desk pulled out a big padded envelope and handed it to Laura together with a pen. LaFontaine scribbled an address on the front, dropped two test tubes in together with a little note which explained the situation and sealed the envelope. The third tube LaFontaine put into their own pocket.

“Keeping that for own research.”

“Dinner is about to start. You two better get in there. The mailman gets this first thing tomorrow. I promise.” Isabelle placed the envelope on a pile of letters.

“Thanks, Isabelle. You're the best.”

 

As LaFontaine and Laura left the office they saw Isabelle rubbing the black spot on her

neck her face twisted with pain.


	4. Bonfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Laura? Can I talk to you about something?” LaFontaine looked at the ground.

After dinner darkness fell over the camping ground and Laura started to shiver as she left the main cabin. She returned to her cabin to grab a sweater. She found a new text message on her phone. It was from her dad and said that he would reach Vienna around midday the next day and that he would text her again as soon as he got of the plane. She replied and just as she hit send someone knocked on her door. It was Perry.

“Laura, the Welcome-to-Camp-Silas-Camp-Fire is about to start. Would you mind help setting it up? The others are already down at the lake.”

“No, of course, sure.” Laura pulled her sweater over her head and followed Perry outside.

“Can you bring them this? I have to help with the dishes really quick. See you in a bit.” Perry handed Laura a bottle with spiritus, some old papers and a lighter and walked back to the main cabin. Laura followed the path between the cabins down to the lake. As she reached the fireplace Isabelle and LaFontaine were stacking up a pile of wood in between a ring of small gray stones which was surrounded by a few stems which were supposed to serve as benches.

“Hey, Laur. Have you seen Perry? She was supposed to..” LaFontaine saw the things in Lauras hands and laughed. “Did she make you in charge of starting the fire?”

“Seems so.” Laura gave the spiritus to Isabelle who started to drown the pile of wood with it. The crumpled-up old papers Laura pushed between a few gaps between the pieces of wood.

“Okay done, Laura do you want to hand me the lighter? I need to make sure no one gets burned here today.” Isabelle shook her head and smirked. “And I don't trust you two.”

“Good call.”

LaFontaine and Laura watched as the flame from the lighter crawled along the paper and underneath the woods. Smoke started to ascend and slowly the fire grew bigger and bigger until the entire pile was in flames. Dark shadows started to flicker and run along the trees that surrounded the fireplace which gave the entire situation a spooky vibe.

The few other campers had arrived and sat themselves on to the stems watching the dance of the flames.

Laura and LaFontaine chose a stem which gave them view over the fire with the lake in the background. The surface of the lake seemed to burn and glistened in different shades of orange surrounded by pitch black water.

“Laura? Can I talk to you about something?” LaFontaine looked at the ground.

“Yeah, sure. What's up?”

“Because I figured we are gonna spend a lot of time here. Together you know? And I really thought you should know this because I don't want things to be weird. And.. stuff.”

Laura started to worry. “Yes...”

“So I think I am just gonna say it then. I am genderqueer. Genderfluid. Do.. Do you know what that means?”

“Yes, I know what that is. That's want you wanted to tell me? No need to worry. I know we have only just met today. But you seem awesome and I don't care as what you identify as. Any preferred pronouns?”

A huge smile had appeared on LaFontaines face. “You are the first person to ask this. I like they and them. If that isn't too much to ask.”

Laura pulled LaFontaine into a hug. “Of course that is not too much to ask. You feeling comfortable in your own skin is something important and people had to respect that. But can I ask you something else?”

“Sure.” LaFontaine returned the hug with a gentle but firm grip.

“You and Perry? Are you like..?”

“She is my best friend. And I love her with everything I have. But she has trouble accepting me. She tries so hard though. But every time she calls me by my birth name or uses 'she' it feels like there is a dagger in my heart twisting. We were always more than friends but I don't know if I can be with her completely. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, completely.”

“Hey, you two. What do we have here?” Danny had appeared in front of them.

“I am gonna go.. find Perry.” LaFontaine got up and gave Laura a wink as they walked away.

“This seat taken?” Danny pointed to the now empty spot next to Laura.

“N.. No. Please. Sit down.” Laura felt herself blush and was glad that the light of the fire wasn't enough to expose it to the redhead.

“So tell me bit about yourself, Laura.”

The way Danny pronounced her name made Laura smile and she thought to herself that she could never get sick of hearing Danny saying her name.

“About myself? There isn't really much to know about me. I am almost 18. About to start studying english literature. That's about it, I guess.”

A smirk appeared on Dannys face. “English literature, hm? I happened to get my master in english literature in a year. But the bachelor in english lit was fun to get.”

“Really? Can you tell me a bit about how it is?” Lauras eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Sure. A lot of reading. A lot of essays to write about what you had to read. But it is awesome. The perfect way to deepen my love for books and stories. And there are so many interesting books out there. Of course you will have to read a few that aren't in you interest but books are always a new world to get lost into, don't you think?”

It was very hard for Laura to follow Dannys ramble. The voice of the redhead sounded like a wonderful melody in Lauras ears. Every word had the perfect ring to it. The movement of Dannys lips fascinated Laura and she couldn't stop staring at them.

“Reading allows a person to travel trough time and into different galaxies. Books might be the second most awesome thing on this planet.”

“Just second most awesome? What could possibly be more awesome than books?”

“Cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are the most awesome thing on this planet.”

Danny gave Laura a smile that made the world around them disappear.

“Cookies? Yeah, I guess you are right. Cookies are really awesome. And studying literature is pretty time intense but manageable, with little help of people from upper semesters.”

Laura wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a hint, an offer or just a tip, but she had to memorise this to ask Danny about it later.

Two dark shades had stepped onto the clearing out of the shadows of the trees. The dean and Carmilla and it seemed that they were having an argument, but too quiet for Laura to understand what they were saying. She noticed that Danny was staring at the two of them ever since they gotten into sight. At one point the redhead made an angry sound and shook her head. As Danny noticed that Laura had been staring at her, she turned back to her.

“Oh sorry, what were you saying?”

Laura wondered if Danny had been able to understand what the dean and Carmilla had been arguing about, but decided to drop it. “Nothing.”

“Oh okay.” Dannys face seemed to turn into a worried expression. “Hey are you cold? You are shivering. Do you want us to get closer to the fire?”

Now Laura noticed herself that she was shivering. But it wasn't because the cold. The closeness to Danny made her nervous and with Carmilla showing up out of nowhere she had trouble calming her heart, but of course Danny couldn't know this. “No, thanks. Its alright."

“Nuts! Here have my jacket.” With a single movement Danny slipped out of her jacket and put it around Lauras shoulders.

“Thank you.” The warmth of Dannys jacket crawled through her sweater and she had to admit that the cold might have been adding to her shivering. Laura could smell Dannys scent and her senses started to tingle. Danny smelled of earth and something incredible sweet. A scent that was even better than the smell of freshly baked cookies.

Her brain started to hurt as she thought about how she was might crushing on this beautiful redheaded girl next to her. Without a warning her eyes wandered over to Carmilla who she noticed now was staring at her and Danny with an amused expression on her face. Crushing on this beautiful redheaded girl and the mysterious darkhaired girl, she corrected herself. Even though she hadn't spend much time with Carmilla or Danny, both of the girls had seemed to taken over all her thoughts.

A high pitched scream tore Laura away from her train of thoughts. Every single head turned towards the darkness of the forest from where the scream had came. Danny had jumped on her feet and suddenly Carmilla stood in front of her.

“Let's go.” Carmilla started running into the direction of the scream and pulled Danny with her.

“Everybody say calm.” The dean stopped Will and Kirsch who were about to run into the forest. “That was just a bird. No need to head into the woods at night. Let's just keep enjoying the bonfire.”

“But what about Danny and Carmilla?” Kirsch's voice had a nervous undertone.

“They probably just returned to the camp. Now go enjoy the fire, Brody.”

Without noticing Laura had jumped on her feet. LaFontaine and Perry walked over to her.

“Do you believe they returned to camp?” Lauras voiced sounded more worried than she intended.

“Definitely not. But they do this all the time. They know the woods by heart. No need to worry. And I've heard of a bird that screams like this, but they normally don't live in our environment.”

“Su.. LaFontaine stop scaring Laura. Birds fly. Maybe one just started to live here. No need to worry.” Perrys face darkened. “They are fine.”

“If you say so.”

 

Later that night as Laura returned to her cabin, she had hoped to find Carmilla just lying in her bed peacefully asleep. Yet she found the cabin as she had left it earlier that afternoon. Carmillas bed empty and untouched and her bed with her dress and towel on top.

She grabbed her toilet bag and her towel to get a shower and left the cabin again.

On the way to the red cabin she met LaFontaine who were on their way back to their cabin.

“Perry and I want to hike around the lake tomorrow, wanna come with? There is this one little waterfall I need to show you. It is so pretty.”

“Yeah sure. Sounds good.”

“Okay. Tomorrow after breakfast. Good night then.”

“Night.”

 

As Laura was lying in her bed half an hour later she kept staring at Carmillas empty bed even though it was too dark for her to spot it, hoping that Carmilla and Danny were okay.

Once again her thoughts traveled to the two girls who had been wandering around her mind. She wondered how it was possible that these two gotten into her blood this quickly. Camp had literally just started today and all she could think of was that she got to spend the next few weeks with the two beauties getting to know them better. And who knew what could happen.

With a smile on her face she fell into a deep sleep, clinging to her yellow pillow.


	5. Around the lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three of them started walking along a small trail which lead them into the woods, the glistening of the lake always visible through the trees to their left.

The next morning Laura awoke in a bed too soft to her liking and she had to take a second to remember where she was. As her eyes had adjusted to the light beams falling through the curtain she looked over to Carmilla's bed hoping she would find the blackhaired girl asleep but alive there. As she recognized the pale face framed in a mess of dark hair a sign of relieve ran through her body. After a while she caught herself staring at the rising and falling of the girl's blanket and she hurried herself to stand up and stretched herself a few times trying to shake off the remaining tiredness. From this perspective she could see three red streaks running across Carmilla's cheek.

While Laura was roaming through her drawers to find clothes a rustling behind her back caused her to turn around. Carmilla had turned herself in bed and the blanket was now laying on the floor. Apparently the girl hadn't found it necessary to change out of her clothes last night and she was still wearing the heavy boots and the leather pants. Laura couldn't believe that this was comfortable but now she could see a lot more scratches all over the girl's body and she couldn't help but wonder what happened last night after Carmilla and Danny disappeared into the woods.

A glimpse on her phone told her that she was almost late for breakfast and she hurried herself into changing and brushing her teeth above the small sink in a corner of her cabin.

 

With the tray with her plate on it, Laura stood in front of the tables in the main cabin, her eyes roaming over the crowd of people who were either far too awake or still half asleep. When she recognized Perry's untamed hair she walked towards her table and let herself fall down next to her.

“Morning.”, she mumbled.

“Good morning, Laura.” Perry seemed to belong to the sort of people who were far too awake at this early hour. “How was your first night?”

“Fine, I guess.” She answered quietly while chewing slowly on a carrot-stick.

“I take it from the sound of tiredness in your voice that you are not a morning person?”

“Not at all. Mornings are for sleeping. Where is LaF?”

“The early bird gets the worm. And.. ”

“The early bird can go annoy someone else.” She was interrupted by LaFontaine who had appeared behind them, their hair standing in every direction.

With a sour expression on her face Perry got up and left them alone.

“Well, that was mean.”

“No, that's just our morning personalities. She's annoying and I'm mean.” They sat down facing Laura and started slurping a coffee.

“You guys live with Danny right?”

“Yes, why?” Slowly LaFontaine set their mug down, a milk mustache on their upper lip.

“You've got something on your lip.” Laura pointed on her own face, but LaFontaine just shrugged and continued to drink their coffee.

“Because Carmilla looks like she fell into a field of thorns.”

“Danny does too. But that's normal for them. They always look a bit beaten up. Funny thing is though, in the mornings they look like that, right and then by midday Carmilla is like totally healed up again and in the evening Danny is too. I don't know how they do it and both of them refuse to let me take blood samples and stuff. Their healing process is not natural, they just refuse to help science. I mean I have my theories though but I need proof.”

“Theories?” Laura asked with one eyebrow raised.

“Yep. But I need to research a little bit more before I can come to a conclusion. I'll let you in as soon as possible.” Talking about their theories had seemed to waken LaFontaine and they were now jumping up and down in their seat.“You finished with breakfast?”

Laura nodded and the two of them brought back their trays and walked down the hill back to LaFontaine's cabin, where they found Perry rearranging the clothes in her drawers and Danny asleep in her bed.

“She looks just as bad as Carmilla.” Laura whispered.

“And I bet you, by midday she will look almost normal again. Their healing is not normal.” LaFontaine whispered back.

Perry started to push both of them out of the cabin. “They just use a lot of disinfectant.”

“Whatever you say, Per.”

 

The three of them started walking along a small trail which lead them into the woods, the glistening of the lake always visible through the trees to their left.

“LaF? You said last time the four of you had been together in a cabin. Why not again this time? I mean you have a spear bed in your cabin.”

“The dean doesn't like Danny very much. She was so angry after the night with the thing with the wasps, when she saw Carmilla and Danny together the following morning. She took both of them aside during breakfast. We had to eat outside because the main cabin was like in danger of collapsing, she yelled at them for like half of an eternity. I couldn't make out what she was yelling but then Carmilla said something and the dean looked like she was about to faint, Carmilla had to support her and she kept shaking her head. And later when she walked by our table she mumbled something that sounded like “calling Otrera”. Carmilla is like her step-daughter or something like that, so she had to accept what ever relationship she has with Danny, but apparently that doesn't stop her from trying to keep them apart when ever she can.”

“Calling Otrera? Step-daughter?”

“I googled Otrera, but all I could find was that Otrera was the Queen of Amazons according to some Greek legends. And step-daughter. Carmilla always says that she isn't her real mum, even though she sometimes calls her that. Don't ask her about it though, she gets angry about questions about her family.”

“Would you two stop with your theories please and start to enjoy our surroundings? It is such a beautiful morning. Listen to the chirping of the birds.” Perry wore her most enthusiastic smile and linked arms with LaFontaine.

Quietly they followed the trail uphill and after a while they stepped onto a small clearing. Big stones with black symbols written on them laid on the ground surrounding the clearing in a half circle. The ground of the clearing had dark spots where the grass had either been burned or was missing completely and the trees all had marks which looked like their were made by something sharp hitting the bark. They were now high above the lake and could the roofs of the cabins in between the trees on the other side of the lake.

“Weird. Last times these marks weren't here and neither were these weird stones.” LaFontaine had stepped towards the edge of the cliff that was lingering above the lake. “Hey Laura, come here for a second.”

“Careful.” Perry's voice was demanding, but filled with worry.

She caught up LaF and looked down onto the surface of the lake.

“We are exactly above the black swirl.” Laura said, her breath going shallow. LaFontaine mumbled in agreement.

In the meantime, Perry had walked back to the trail and was now calling their names. “LaFontaine. Laura. Let's go see the waterfall. It's way more beautiful there.”

“One sec.” LaFontaine yelled back to her and added quietly so only Laura could understand. “We need to come back here, without Per.”

“Agreed.” She nodded and they walked back to the redheaded girl who was tapping her foot eagerly.

Perry lead them uphill in between the trees that stood on the other side of the clearing, away from the trail and after a while a pond opened up in front of them.

Water flowed down a wall of stone on one side of the pond creating a waterfall. A rainbow played across the cloud of haze where the waterfall hit the surface of the pond. Next to the three of them a small stream disappeared in the forest flowing towards the lake. The pond itself was surrounded by very old looking trees. But what was taking Laura's breath away was the biggest tree of them all. It stood in the middle of the pond, it's majestic branches stretched across the pond.

“Wow.” Laura felt herself lost for words.

“I know, right?” LaFontaine grinned from ear to ear. “We found this place last year. But honestly if you think this is beautiful you should come here at night. The big tree in the middle is surrounded by dancing lights then and it fells like this place is pulsating. I haven't found out what the dancing lights are, though. They are too fast to catch them, but they are way too big to be fireflies.”

“They are fireflies, of course they are fireflies or other bugs that illuminate. What else could they be.” Perry had sat down on a stone and dipped her feet into the clear water.

“Per is still freaked out, because I once said that they could be fairies.”

“Don't be ridiculous. There are no such things as fairies.”

“If you say so.”

 

When they got back to camp, lunch had just started and after they got their trays with something that looked like it could be chili or something entirely else, the three of them sat down next to Carmilla and Danny who had been in a deep conversation, but stopped talking as soon as the others got in earshot. Laura felt a sense of disappointment crawl through her, even though she told herself that she barely knew the two of them and couldn't expect them to let her in to their secrets.

Now sitting next to Carmilla and across from Danny she could see that LaFontaine had been right. Carmilla's skin was flawless again and the tall redhead had only faded streaks running across her arms. The only spot that still looked somewhat like a wound was a red patch at Danny's neck that she quickly covered with her hair when she caught Laura staring.

“Guys? Any plans for the rest of the day?” Danny's lips turned into a small mischievous smile, which was immediately returned by the blackhaired girl. “Carm and I had an idea this morning.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions or questions or just want to yell at me, come talk to me on tumblr.   
> http://lilucath.tumblr.com


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